4 DIY Fixes For A Musty Basement

If your basement is the sort of dark and dismal place that belongs in a horror movie, then you should really get down there and clean things up. Basements can be a lot more than storage spaces, but first you need to know how to take care of them.

If your basement has a musty, abandoned smell, that’s a sign that you’ve got a mold infestation. To get rid of it, you should scrub the mold away wherever you can, wash any cloth materials that could be infected, and dry them with a high heat. However, if you can’t get rid of the high moisture levels that cause mold it’ll only come back again later. Here are a few steps you can take on your own to correct the situation:

Get A Dehumidifier

When the humidity of a summer day meets the cool air of the basement, water can condense in unexpected places. With a dehumidifier running throughout the summer months, the only place water will condense is into its container.

Look For A Leak

If the summer air isn’t responsible for your musty basement, a leak may be to blame instead. Check your plumbing first: some key signs would be wet, steamy pipes and large population of mold nearby. If you fix all that up with insulation and tape and the mold still doesn’t stay away, try taping some sheets of aluminum foil to the walls of your basement for a few days. If the wall side becomes wet after a while, or if you simply find wet patches along your walls any old time, then it means there’s very likely a leak in your basement wall or floor that needs fixing.

Patch The Leak

Depending on the size and scope of the leak, you may be able to handle it yourself. By using things like waterproof epoxy, hydraulic cement, and waterproof paint, you’ll keep the water out at a relatively low price. The water will still likely do some damage to your foundation, but you’ve at least bought yourself a few years.

Install A Sump Pump

Only do this yourself if you’re particularly handy, because it involves drilling one or more permanent holes into your basement floor. Sump pumps work by pumping water out of the space below your basement so that the water table can never rise above it and potentially leak in.

If you’ve got a leaky basement and you’re looking for a more permanent solution than epoxy and cement, or if your DIY skills are DOA, then you should consider hiring a waterproofing contractor to fix the problem for good. And if you live in or near the state of Maryland, call AA Action Waterproofing for a free estimate. We’ve been in business for over 27 years, and in all that time we’ve yet to see a basement we couldn’t fix.